European Central Bank head slams crypto assets says they are ‘worth nothing’

The president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, has made it quite clear about her position on the value of cryptocurrency assets in a recent interview.

Speaking on the Dutch television show College Tour in an interview which will be aired on Sunday, May 22, the ECB head maintained her stance that crypto assets are extremely speculative and very dangerous investments, as per a report by Politico.

“I have said all along the crypto assets are highly speculative, very risky assets. My very humble assessment is that it is worth nothing. It is based on nothing, there is no underlying assets to act as an anchor of safety.”

Meanwhile, the finance ministers and governors of the central banks of the seven industrialized countries that make up the Group of Seven (G7) gathered in Germany on May 19 and 20. The major subject of discussion was the prompt regulation of crypto assets in the wake of the recent Terra (LUNA) controversies that shocked the cryptocurrency market.

ECB prepared to hike interest rates

Lagarde also addressed the topic of monetary policy, suggesting once again that the ECB is prepared to raise interest rates in July in order to combat the galloping inflation in the eurozone. 

On the other hand, it seemed as if she was trying to play down the possibility of a hike of fifty basis points, which was a more extreme alternative that Dutch central bank president Klaas Knot had just proposed. 

“We are going to follow the path of stopping net [bond] purchases and then sometime after that — which could be a few weeks — hike interest rates,” Lagarde said. 

It is presently anticipated that the ECB asset-buying program would end early in the third quarter, which will pave the way for an interest rate increase in July. 

An increase of 50 basis points “is not something that I can tell you at this point here today,” she added.